The Plymouth Athenaeum’s lectures return in March with a mixture of artistic, literary and scientific topics to fascinate and inspire at City College Plymouth.
One of the highlights of the Spring Lecture Series will be a talk by Emma Darwin on Thursday, 10th March (7.30pm). Emma is the great-great-granddaughter of evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, who was a member of the Plymouth Athenaeum in the mid-1800s.
The series kicks off with Chris Savery taking us on ‘The journey of a local playwright’ on Thursday, 3rd March (7.30pm). His work has been performed on stage in New York and Paris and includes Mirror, Mirror: The Other Side of Marilyn and To Win a Crown of Thorns, a play about the English Civil War.
Join Emma Darwin on her journey through the artists, scientists, composers and poets of the Darwin-Wedgwood-Galton clan, as seen through the lens of her creative struggle to write fiction about them on Thursday, 10th March (7.30pm).
Books about Emma Darwin’s great-great-grandparents, Charles and Emma Darwin, are legion, but when she agreed to write a novel about her family, she looked for stories less often told.
Environmental journalist and lecturer Anna Turns discusses easy and sustainable ways to reduce chemical pollution on Thursday, 31st March (7.30pm). Anna specialises in writing about sustainability, climate change, marine issues and our connection with nature.
She is an Oxford University biology graduate and Associate Lecturer at Plymouth Marjon University, and writes regularly for publications including The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard.
Her first book, Go Toxic Free: Easy and Sustainable Ways to Reduce Chemical Pollution, was published in January.
Louis Dyson discusses his research into the six custodians of the Cottonian Collection of oils, works on paper, sculpture and books which were collected primarily during the mid-late 18th century on Thursday, 7th April (7.30pm).
He was awarded the 2021 Maureen Attrill Bursary and his research into the collection includes Charles Rogers (1711-1784), who collected the bulk of the collection, and the last custodian, William Cotton III, of Ivybridge (1794-1863).
Prof Alison Anderson discusses the role of the media in covering the climate crisis on Wednesday, 27th April (7.30pm).
Alison Anderson is Professor in Sociology in the School of Society and Culture and the research lead for the Environment, Culture and Society research group at the University of Plymouth.
Her research focuses on risk communication particularly in terms of environmental issues and health. She is the author of Media, Culture and the Environment and Media, Environment and the Network Society as well as numerous articles on media and risk communication.
SPRING LECTURES
Thurs 3 Mar (7.30pm): The journey of a local playwright. Registration: IN-PERSON | ONLINE.
Thurs 10 Mar (7.30pm): This is Not a Talk About Charles Darwin. Registration: IN-PERSON | ONLINE.
Thurs 31 Mar (7.30pm): Gox Toxic Free. Registration: IN-PERSON | ONLINE.
Thurs 7 Apr (7.30pm): Custodians of the Cottonian Collection. Registration: IN-PERSON | ONLINE.
Weds 27 Apr (7.30pm): Don’t Look Up: The Role of the Media in Covering the Climate Crisis. Registration: IN-PERSON | ONLINE.
Please note: these lectures will take place at City College’s Kings Road campus.